When head turns whole body follows
Postural reflexes keep the body upright and aligned. These reflexes are triggered by the effects of gravity on the body and begin to develop after the baby is born. The postural reflexes gradually replace the primitive reflexes and should be established by the time a child is three and a half.
The Midbrain connects top to bottom and right to left sides of the brain. The midbrain connects the cortex (higher thinking) to the brainstem (survival instincts) and also connects the right (creative, colourful)brain to the left (logical, linear) brain. The shift from primitive (brainstem) reflexes to postural reflexes signifies a maturing of the child’s nervous system.
The postural reflexes allow subconscious control of posture, balance and coordination.
They help the baby develop in every stage to roll, sit, crawl, stand, walk and run. When they are fully developed,the child can respond appropriately to a loss of balance and weight change, so they can stay standing or stay sitting or moving. When they are under developed the child will bounce off the child next to them, the wall, the desk, the floor to maintain their balance.
The postural reflexesare activated depending on the degree of disturbance to balance. If only the head is misaligned, the righting reflexes are enough and if the body’s equilibrium is under threat, then the equilibrium reactions engage.
When head turns whole body follows
Maintains the head upright
Gaze remains horizontal
Head turns, body turns, legs roll
Helps from sitting to standing
Arms straighten to prevent her from falling
Balance and coordination will be poor. The effects of this will be noticeable in physical activity, in social situations and most commonly for children in the classroom.
The SIMPLE movement programme is fun. Children take it at their own pace. There is no competition.
There are developmental excercises. There are eye excercises. There are building blocks to acquiring a range ofactivity skills.
Taking part in any sport is easier. Coping with the school day is easier. Life is more fun with SIMPLE.